UNB, Dhaka :Environmentalists and rights activists at a meeting here on Friday urged the government to take necessary steps to stop plying of commercial vessels through the Shela River to keep the Mongla-Ghashiakhali Channel and the Sundarbans unhurt.But, they said, unplanned installation of sluice gate by the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) coupled with several hundred illegal dams in canals and hundreds of shrimp farms have been the main obstacles to protection of the rivers.National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads & Railways organised the views-exchange meeting at Mukti Bhaban in the capital on ‘Necessity of the Mongla-Ghashiakhali Channel to protect the Sundarbans’.Prof Dr Mir Tarique Ali of BUET, water expert Engr M Inamul Hoque, Communist Part of Bangladesh (CPB) central leader Ruhin Hossain Prince, president of the Council to Protect Passengers Rights of Bangladesh Tusar Rehman, PEACE general secretary Ifma Hussain, Jubo Union central leader Sekender Hayat and member-secretary of Save Roads and Waterways Implementation Movement Rafiqul Islam Sabuj, among others, spoke at the meeting held with committee adviser and senior politician Manzurul Ahsan Khan in the chair.Committee general secretary Ashis Kumar Dey read out the keynote paper at the function.Despite having an inter-ministerial decision to remove the sluice gate, they said, BWDB is yet to act to implement it. Besides, local administration shows sheer negligee to evict illegal dams and environmentally harmful shrimp farms.They said, Bangladesh Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has recently reopened part of the channel to vessel operation after a massive dredging that cost around Tk 230 crore.But, maintaining navigability appears a major challenge as many spots in the channel are being quickly silted due to the sluice gate, dams and shrimp farms that obstruct water flow, they added.The environmentalists said vessels are plying the Shela River may bring any environmental havoc any time. If such a situation continues, the Sundarbans will be destroyed with manmade disasters in the days to come, they observed.Voicing concern over the issue, the speakers urged the government to deploy army there to protect the Mongla-Ghashiakhali Channel and the Sundarbans.A six-point recommendation was put forward at the meeting to protect the channel and the Sundarbans.The recommendations include removal of Failahat sluice gate, illegal dams and shrimp farms, stopping all controversial and unplanned projects of BWDB, engaging army personnel to dredge all the rivers and canals adjacent to the Mongla-Ghashiakhali Channel for smooth water flow.
